After much harassment encouragement, I entered the blogosphere to document the delightful (or otherwise) and unexpected moments of my younger daughter's life. Hannah was born in 1998. She surprised us with her extra chromosome, and continues to surprise us with her humor, intellect and obstinacy. She takes our breath away. As my elder daughter once wrote, when Hannah was born, our family went from ordinary to extraordinary.

October 15, 2011

3 natural disasters within a three week span: Earthquake: epicenter was 40 miles from our house. No damage.Hurricane: Lost one tree, one window and everything in our fridge
(five days without power)Tropical Storm: Drowned the garden and beat up the raspberries

7 airplanes (and 2 trains) to travel to and from California and New Mexico.

16 Museums/Aquariums/Zoos/National Parks

19 years since I saw my college roommate! I still love her. A lot.

58 days until KATE COMES HOME!!!! Her time is almost up, and she'll be home before Christmas! w00t!!!

Don't miss a single riveting post! (yeah, right...)

Visitors so far....

About Me

The Cast of Characters!

Hannah, a girl who meets her challenges.

Hannah loves to read, swim, play soccer, spends LOTS of time creating art and takes bass guitar lessons. She keeps us all on our toes!

Chris, the excellent big brother.

I don't think there is a kinder brother in the world. He is 24 and is working on his PhD in Chemistry at UNC-Chapel Hill

Kate, the incredible big sister.

Kate is a veteran Peace Corps volunteer in Jordan. She is working as a Police Dispatcher and is studying for an MBA.

James, the Fearless Leader!

Don't let him fool you, he's actually a real estate executive who manages corporate properties. But he does a nice job with the lawn, dishes and laundry too! I'm not complaining!!

Beth, The Crazed Mudder.

After 21 years of homeschooling, I'm starting to show some side effects! I always said my degree in Psychology and Animal Behavior would be good for something! Besides annoying my children, I spend a good portion of my spare time researching Down syndrome metabolism and cognition. I also enjoy mentoring families who are new to Down syndrome or new to homeschooling.

A Beast

Hazel is Katie's dog. She is named after a character in "Watership Down". She is a Wheaten Terrier, the only kind of dog we can own because bunches of us are allergic. Hazel is very sweet, unless you are a puppy and you irritate her.

A Younger Beast

Bunsen belongs to Chris. He is playful little guy and a quick learner. He reminds us of his Uncle Nelson.